Mark 10:17<\/strong> As he was setting out on a journey, A Yearning Question:<\/strong><\/p>\n The writer of Mark\u2019s Gospel does not waste much ink on literary In today\u2019s story a man (we don\u2019t know how old; we don\u2019t By \u201cwe\u201d I mean specifically the people who live, with me, And our questioning brings answers! We are bombarded by potential messiahs, The problem with such claims and promises is that they do not ultimately A Terrifying Answer:<\/strong><\/p>\n Jesus\u2019 response to the man in our text is at first mundane. He When Mark says that the man was shocked, it is surely an understatement. And, as if to add insult to our injury, Mark follows this up with a The Gospel Connection<\/strong><\/p>\n It is at this precise point that the good news is given by Jesus, news Our faulty logic, again citing the rich man from the text, is to think Jesus says, in effect, \u201cIf you want to know what you must do, It may help to look at things this way: my body needs a number of things With the craving for life, the equation is similar for all of us. When For what God gives is nothing less than a new primary identity. One
\na man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, „Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit
\neternal life?“ 18 Jesus said to him, „Why do you call me good?
\nNo one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‚You shall
\nnot murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall
\nnot bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and
\nmother.'“ 20 He said to him, „Teacher, I have kept all these
\nsince my youth.“ 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, „You
\nlack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor,
\nand you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.“ 22
\nWhen he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had
\nmany possessions. 23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, „How
\nhard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!“ 24
\nAnd the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them
\nagain, „Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25
\nIt is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone
\nwho is rich to enter the kingdom of God.“ 26 They were greatly astounded
\nand said to one another, „Then who can be saved?“ 27 Jesus
\nlooked at them and said, „For mortals it is impossible, but not
\nfor God; for God all things are possible.“ 28 Peter began to say
\nto him, „Look, we have left everything and followed you.“ 29
\nJesus said, „Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house
\nor brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for
\nmy sake and for the sake of the good news, 30 who will not receive a
\nhundredfold now in this age– houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and
\nchildren, and fields with persecutions– and in the age to come eternal
\nlife. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.“<\/p>\n
\nniceties. He doesn\u2019t spend much time setting scenes, giving background,
\nwalking us into the next story as his Gospel progresses. We are simply
\npresented with characters like a rapid succession of Rohrschach drawings,
\nwaiting for us to see both the simplicity and complexity of what is there.<\/p>\n
\nknow from where) comes running up to Jesus, kneels down and asks a question. \u201cGood
\nRabbi, what must I do to inherit eternal life?\u201d Suddenly we know
\na whole lot more about this man. Just from his question, we know that
\nhe has some idea that perhaps Jesus can help him. Whether he has heard
\nof Jesus by reputation or has been following Jesus, he knows that Jesus
\nis talking about the coming \u201cReign of God.\u201d Jesus has just
\ntaught that we must receive it like little Children (10:15). Perhaps
\nin response, perhaps out the deep yearning to see God\u2019s kingdom
\ncome to him also, he asks the question, \u201cwhat must I do….\u201d I
\nthink we know a great deal about this man, whom the text later reveals
\nto have many possessions. We know so much, because we are so much like
\nhim.<\/p>\n
\nin a particularly affluent part of the world, the developed western world,
\nwhere even those below the poverty threshold live in luxuries that many
\nin the other two thirds of the world don\u2019t even dare to dream about.
\n(Indoor plumbing, for example.) Our luxury gives rise to the ability
\nto ask questions beyond the normal questions of subsistence. Where most
\nask, will I eat today? Will I have a roof over my head tonight? Will
\nmy child live tomorrow? Will I live tomorrow? We ask instead, am I happy?
\nAm I filled and fulfilled? And if not, what will it take to make me so
\ntomorrow? These questions are about both quality of life and life itself.
\nThey are in effect asking how we might inherit eternal life, a life that
\nis more than just existing from moment to moment. Like the wealthy questioner
\nof our text, it is our relative prosperity that gives us the opportunity
\nto ask such questions.<\/p>\n
\neach promising in turn the final answer to \u201clife\u2019s persistent
\nquestions\u201d as Guy Noir, Private Eye (Garrison Keillor\u2019s alter
\nego) might say. From Madison Avenue, we get advertisements of the latest
\nand greatest stuff to come down the line, each offering to satisfy our
\nhunger. Much of this advertising surprisingly, but subtly, offers to
\nanswer the question of eternal life. Whether it is actually hawking products
\nthat defy age, or simply implying, through the use of youthful models
\nin the ad itself, that if we use this product we too will feel eternally
\nyoung, each ad in turn is basing its appeal on the fact that we fear
\ndeath. We deny its reality, and will believe at least a part of each
\nappeal to take that denial into the public sphere, where our clothes,
\nmakeup, and lifestyle are at odds with the aging process to some degree.
\nWe have a culture of would be messiahs, from sports heros to political
\nfigures, each making the same claim, \u201cI can \u2018save\u2019 your
\nlife from the void of meaning. I can fill you and fulfill your wants
\nand desires. Trust in me.\u201d And we do! To a point.<\/p>\n
\ndeliver what they claim. We are not, at the end of the day, younger,
\nhappier, fuller. Though we search for meaning in our youth culture, we
\nfind that it ends in the meaninglessness and despair that cannot be easily
\nbought, or even inherited. Our \u201cwould be messiahs\u201d let us
\ndown. Now we are back where we started, with a burning, yearning question, \u201cwhat
\nmust I do….\u201d And when we hear the words and deeds of Jesus echo
\nacross time, we might be suspicious of his answer as well. Or we, like
\nthe man in our story today, might actually run up to Jesus, kneel down
\nbefore him, and ask the question of yearning in our hearts and on our
\nminds. For we have heard Jesus words about the \u201cReign of God,\u201d and
\nwe yearn to be included, to fill the void, to know meaning and purpose
\nbeyond ourselves, to live.<\/p>\n
\ncalls him to the covenant faithfulness of Israel by recounting the commandments
\nfrom the Sinai Covenant. Interestingly, the man responds in a way that
\nmost of us could not: \u201cI have kept all these from my youth.\u201d Then
\nJesus gives the most terrifying of answers. \u201cYou lack one thing;
\ngo sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have
\ntreasure in heaven; then come, follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nIn the ancient world, no less than ours, the possession of wealth is
\nthe universal, though perhaps misguided, proof of a good relationship
\nwith God. We speak of a wealthy person as \u201cblessed\u201d and even
\nthat cultural commentary speaks of a deeper theological understanding.
\nIf you keep the commandments, if you do the right thing, you will be
\nblessed, financially, as a sign that God is pleased with you. So that
\nJesus suggestion that he give up his possession in order to have a deeper
\nrelationship with God, is a theological slap in his face and ours.<\/p>\n
\nsaying or two on the difficulties of wealth in relationship to God. \u201cHow
\nhard it is for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God!\u201d \u201cIt
\nis easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone
\nwho is rich to enter the kingdom of God.\u201d And with these sayings,
\nthe disciples, both ancient and modern, throw up our collective hands
\nand say, with exasperation, \u201cthen who can be saved?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nthat answers the longing of many people who are worn out by the insufficient
\nanswers of many generations. \u201cFor mortals it is impossible, but
\nnot for God; for God all things are possible.\u201d This one saying
\nexposes both our faulty logic, and the grace and wonder of our God.<\/p>\n
\nthat we are responsible for gaining our inheritance to eternal life. \u201cWhat
\nmust I do to inherit eternal life.\u201d It is the common technique
\nof the rich, the confident, the successful; people who are used to the
\nability to make things happen for themselves. We expect that we will
\nalways and in every circumstance be able to work or think our way to
\nwhatever goals we have, and for the most part, our experience tells us
\nwe can. \u201cWhat must I do…\u201d<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019ll tell you, but you won\u2019t like it. You must give up your
\nreliance on yourself, your possessions, your insistence that you can
\nsave yourself.\u201d This is bad news, but hidden in it is good news.
\nWe give it up because it is the very stumbling block that is preventing
\nGod from giving us his love and care and the life we crave as a gift.
\nWhere we act as our own \u201cgods,\u201d providing for our own meager
\nand less than eternal life, the true Lord of Life stands ready to invite
\nus into relationship and give us the eternal life that we long for. Jesus
\ndemonstrates this by loving the man, even before giving his response.
\nJust as he loves all of us.<\/p>\n
\nto keep it going. It needs rest, it needs good food, and it needs water
\nor other healthy liquid to keep on functioning well. When I need one
\nof these things, my body lets me know by feeling tired, hungry or thirsty.
\nWhen I feed my body junk food, high in sugars and carbohydrates, rather
\nthan the good food it craves, an interesting thing happens. I get a short,
\ntemporary boost in energy (the so-called sugar high) but soon, this wears
\noff, and I am hungrier than when I started, and not only that, have an
\nenergy deficit.<\/p>\n
\nwe try to satisfy the longing for authentic relationship (eternal life)
\nthat God gives us, with possessions or other things that give only a
\ntemporary boost, we end up with more longing than we started with. It
\nis God alone who can give us the courage and the insight to leave this
\nfailed process behind. Through Jesus, God has initiated an authentic
\nrelationship with all people and specifically with me. As I am loved
\nand cared for, not because of my stuff, or what I do, but because I am
\na treasured child and creation of God, I learn that there is a different
\naffirmation, stronger, more sure, that comes to me as a gift. While this
\naffirmation of me as a person is less tangible and visible than the world
\nnormally gives, it is ultimately one that grants my life security in
\nGod\u2019s love and care, and offers me the chance to find the beginnings
\nof authentic relationship and true \u201clife\u201d with those around
\nme. This is what I crave, and there is nothing I can do to inherit it.
\nIt is God\u2019s gift to me.<\/p>\n
\ndeeper than the world of family origin, or even of the ownership of land
\nand other possessions. It is \u201cchild of God.\u201d The strange
\nthing is that this identity helps me to participate in my family, and
\nin the world of possessions in a unique and new way, no longer dependant
\non them to tell me who I am, but instead, secure as God\u2019s child,
\nfree to explore the possibility that being human is more than what I
\nown. This may make me \u201clast\u201d or \u201cleast\u201d in the
\nworld\u2019s eyes. But in God\u2019s kingdom, Jesus became \u201cfirst\u201d and \u201cgreatest\u201d by
\nliving just this way. Secure in God\u2019s love, we are bidden to give
\nup our crutches, our possessions, and follow.<\/p>\n
\n